tartine bread without dutch oven (inverted mixing bowl on top of heavy skillet)?I've been baking with the Tartine master recipe for a few years, and my Le Creuset and Lodge enameled dutch ovens have worked beautifully with no problems at 500F. If you're still worried you can get a plain one and just take care of it (keep it dry, mostly). I don't think it's a big deal unless you're really worried about the unitasker aspect.

Nov3

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Can anyone identify this RED GINSENG CANDY?Actually the wrapper writing in the dark circle says "red ginseng" in traditional Chinese. The candy is Korean though, given the "홍삼" written up at the top. There's nothing else I can make out though, unless there's any more visible writing on the bottom part or edges of that wrapper. I'm personally partial to 'Renesse' candy from the Korea Ginseng Company, but "Korean red ginseng candies" is specific enough that maybe you can just try out whatever you can get locally. (eta: There looks like there's an H Mart in Edison that might be promising. I'd seek out Korean markets specifically.)

Sep18

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Is Japanese kasutera the same foodstuff as Korean kastera?Koreans like to use it as a generic name for a sponge cake with no fillings/toppings, perhaps. Castella is one of my favorite treats at Korean bakeries, and while they might have additional flavors (green tea, coffee, etc.) or different shapes or airier/denser cake... it's ultimately just like "barbecue" like you mention. I haven't seen that label being used for any other Western-style sweet cakes.

May16

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Hot tea to iced. Safe?I'm actually a huge fan of cold brewed tea. I make it with a takeya pitcher and typically store it sideways in the fridge until it's ready. Teabag ratio depends on whether I want tea or tea-flavored water (which is also a nice change from herb/fruit-infused waters). I wonder if it would work for you: drinks.seriouseats.com/2012/07/…

First-Aid Kit for KitchensI guess I'm too used to my home kitchen where I have disposable gloves for cleaning and peppers (after many painful lessons!) :) The blue bandaids are worth mentioning though. If you can't find them specifically, basically anything but clear/flesh colored is a must. I've lost bandaids while working with dough at home and similar situations - metal detectable is nice and fancy for big scale but blue, the blue really sticks out right at you in many cases. Finger cots also come in high visibility colors too. I prefer gloves since it's a hell of a lot harder to lose by accident.

Nov3

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First-Aid Kit for KitchensI don't think aloe is a "first aid" thing though - it's more of a thing you can choose to put on after initial treatment (which is typically either cold water or call your local emergency #).

Nov2

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First-Aid Kit for KitchensI got a restaurant-themed first aid kit from Costco that contains basics (bandaids, gauze, cleaning stuff, pain relief, creams, booklet, equipment, etc.) but by far the only things that are actually used are blue bandaids (for visibility, and they're metal detectable too), neosporin, and finger cots/gloves. Cuts are probably the #1 injury by far, and if my employees get burned it's pretty much just cold water and gauze or doctor/911 time - no need for the burn cream that comes in those kits that you're not even supposed to use.

Oct30

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Frying Oil ReuseThey just make it easier to filter out oil and they get expensive depending on the amount of oil you plan to filter and how. You will get the same effect at home by using coffee filters or similar, using oil appropriate for your task at hand, and keeping different items to fry separated. There are also additives you can get to extend the life of your oil. Most of that advice is overkill for home use though. I don't even bother at my restaurant where we fry 100+lbs of fries alone daily - we clean the oil every 2-3 days and toss after 5.

Refrigerated lunchboxes turn soggyThere's a dish at my restaurant served with rice but it's not ordered enough to justify having a cooker warming up rice all the time. We cheat by putting a serving in a sandwich bag (with no zipper-top) and folding over the top, refrigerating a bunch of those bags, and microwaving on demand (while still bagged). The end product is just as good, I think. I think it's the steaming effect specifically that works wonders. The rice is refrigerated usually only 1 day but sometimes it's up to 3-4 (over the weekend when we're closed) and I don't notice much difference.

Can I use “spent” lemons (juiced) to preserve?You can use the rinds of the juiced lemons and the juice from the zested lemons. If it turns out you don't have enough juice to cover the preserved lemons, you can also make candied lemon peel. I went through 200+ lemons in a week by making lemonade, preserved lemons, and candied peel with very little waste left.

Jul29

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Glass Food ProcessorRobot Coupe and Hobart are some that come to mind (in the US) that I've seen with metal bowls, but of course we're talking commercial food processors that are easily $1k+ for basic starter models like SAJ14SAJ touched on. Not sure I've ever seen a home use one with glass or metal, only blenders. It might be easier to look for specifically BPA-free (or whatever fancies you) plastic.

Jul5

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Why does the custard in my lemon/lime bars always come out looking terrible and with bad texture?Some things I'm wondering: (measured) temperature of oven, only baking until filling is set, accurate measurement of ingredients, waiting to cool? If I skip or screw up any of those steps my lemon/lime bars look a little off kind of like yours. Another thing might be the mixer for the filling - sometimes my bars come out foamy on top that way even at low speeds, so I'll sometimes cook the filling first on a stovetop (lemon curd to lemon bar, basically).